Holiday
by ThrogmortenMimic
Summary: CHAPTER 8! Fayt versus Albel in a classic showdown. Its been a long time coming but this is the last chapter before the rewrite! GASP!
1. First day

**A/N:** This is my first fanfic! Please be nice...

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! And I don't own anything to do with Jack Daniel's either!

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

It had been only a week since Luther was defeated. Nobody was sure what to do next, everyone had different ideas, but only Cliff offered a suggestion. Things had changed, Quark had "acquired" another ship, and she was named Moonlight. She was a pleasure craft and was equipped with all the things that rich boys like to play with, dance floor, fully stocked bar, holographic casino table and even multiple spa pools. The ship was almost fully automated and had many rooms for many guests, with a captain's room. There was no need or quarters for crew.

Cliff had decided that everyone was going on holiday for a while on Ellicoor 2. They were going to go in Moonlight and lay low, without alerting the King or Queens's attention. Once he had checked with Maria, and convinced Mirage to be the pilot, he got everyone and their belongings on the ship before they could say otherwise.

As they were nearing Ellicoor, everyone began to argue about where they should land the ship to keep it hidden.

"We should stay close to Aquios, I can't be too far from the queen." Said Nel.

"Bah, we don't _want_ to see the Queen. The mountains of Airyglyph are the best place to hide fool!" Retorted Albel.

"Lets think this through…" Interrupted Adray, but never got any further before he was cut off.

"Lets just go to Surferio!" Shouted Roger "Dribe and Melt _have _to hear about my adventures..."

"What about that bustling city, Peterney, isn't it?" Asked Peppita "We can go shopping!"

"Shopping sounds nice Peppita, but what about relaxing at the beach?" Sophia offered, a little too quietly though. The argument was getting heated, especially between Nel and Albel; they were on an argument level of their own.

Fayt sighed as he watched Nel begin to bring up old grievances with Albel. This wasn't much of a holiday start. He leaned over to Mirage, who was obviously the one bringing them into orbit, and said, "Just land in the far east of Palmira Plains, its sort of in the middle of everywhere and out of the public eye too."

"Good thinking Fayt. Could you please set the replicators and serve dinner? That might shut them up…" Replied Mirage.

"Sure thing."

"Oh, turn on the cloaking shields while you're at it too please!" Hastily added Mirage as Fayt slipped away.

0o0o0o0

Everyone was sitting around the table eating and they were landed in the east of Palmira plains. Cliff was first finished eating and, leaning back in his chair said, "Okay guys! How about we meet back here in about an hour for a few games of cards? This is going to be Sophia's first cards night! Sorry, Peppita, Roger, your going to bed." A murmur of agreement came form the table with an obvious. "Bah." From Albel, and the even more obvious twin. "Awwwww…."

Everyone had finished dinner and was already upstairs except for Albel, who sat at the table lost in thought, and Sophia who was cleaning up, everyone had made a real mess of the table.

"_I wonder what he's thinking about…" _Thought Sophia _"Maybe I can get a response from him, get him to leave his shell, just once. Why cant he just open up to other people! He just has to be so… so… introverted! Is that the right word? Oh well, here goes…" _Sophia threw an already dirty cloth on the table in front of Albel. "Here, can you clean your half of the table for me, please?" And began to walk towards the kitchen with a stack of plates.

Whack! A dirty cloth landed forcefully in Sophia's hair. _"Oooh Albel! I just washed my hair!" _Thought Sophia as she turned around just in time to see Albel swiftly rise from the chair while drawing his katana. Instant fear shot through her body and she froze on the spot. Albel swung the sword low, at table height; the blade skimmed along the tabletop under the grime and flicked it off the table. Sophia was suddenly coated in dinner mess. Albel's harsh laugh followed, as he turned and said "Clean up your own mess, worm…" And he walked away.

As Albel walked down the corridor he was still thinking of Sophia. _"That was hilarious, and she deserved it too, the worm. Making me clean up. Bah. But… Wait! Why did I think "But" "But what?" Arrgh, I must need a break. Maybe that idiot gorilla was right about this holiday… Damn!" _Albel went straight to his room, and tried to slam the automatic door. Which was quite a disappointment for him when he found it wasn't possible, so he gave it a solid kick and was rewarded with a harsh clanging sound.

0o0o0o0

Sophia was not happy. _"That was totally uncalled for Albel! Why do you have to be such a jerk to everyone? I'm the only person who is even nice to you, and still you hate me…_" She thought to herself as she left the dishes in the sink and washed her face. This ship would clean its own dishes, thankfully. She headed towards her room for a shower. As her door slid open a blue blur leaped out from behind it and kissed her cheek. "Fayt! What if someone sees you?"

"Well, it was a risk I just had to take. You being so beautiful and all."

Sophia just blushed. "Aw, Fayt…"

"Actually, why are you covered in… Food?"

Sophia went even redder. "Oh, ah, I'll tell you later. I'm just going to quickly have a shower before we start the cards…"

"I don't think so…" Cut in Fayt "You're wrong, cause _we_ are going to have a shower. And there won't be anything _quick_ about it…" Fayt could now feel the heat coming off her face; anyone would have thought she was badly sunburnt. He quickly pulled her inside and locked the door.

0o0o0o0

"Cliff, there's no way you're getting out of this."

"But Mirage! I don't know _how _to tell bedtime stories!" Cliff practically whined.

"You sound just like a child Cliff. Fine. You tell one to Peppita and I'LL tell Roger then."

"Gee thanks Mirage! You're the best!" Said Cliff as he tried to lean in for a quick kiss.

"I don't think so Cliff!" Hissed Mirage as she quickly stepped back and pulled forward and down on Cliffs approaching head, hard, thus causing him to fall flat on his face. "Kiss that." She said coolly and turned and stalked off towards Rogers's bedroom.

"Ouch. That's one sca- ree lady…" Said Cliff as he picked himself up and trudged off to Peppitas room.

0o0o0o0

"…And they all lived happily ever after."

"Whaaaat? That was a really weird story Cliff…" Questioned Peppita "What's whisky? Can I try some sometime? Pleeease?"

"Haha, maybe when you're older. Like 18, an adult. Mirage would kill me if she caught me giving you whisky… Now, go to sleep. Goodnight." Said Cliff as he walked to the door and turned off the light.

"Night Cliff…" Mumbled Peppita, faking sleepiness as the door closed. Peppita instantly reached for the clock, 10:19 was displayed in bright red neon. _"Give it 15 minutes, and they'll be playing their cards, then I'm out of here." _

0o0o0o0

Cliff sat at the table, shuffling cards and chatting to Nel and Maria. The tabletop now revealed a casino style blackjack table. "You know, this is really flash Maria!" Exclaimed Cliff, who was in the dealers seat, as expected.

"Obviously. The Moonlight was built for rich people to play on." Replied Maria.

"Well, at least this time, I know what the rules are, so I won't be leaving a poor person." Added Nel. Just then Mirage came down the stairs, and took a seat, closely followed by Adray. It was 10:24. They chatted amongst themselves until 10:29, when unsurprisingly Albel turned up. "Albel, did you see Fayt or Sophia?" Inquired Cliff. "This is going to be Sophia's first blackjack night." Sophia had only turned 18 just before the battle with Luther, and there had been no celebrations thus far.

"Bah. I know that! If I saw them I would have dragged them both down here wouldn't I, fool?" Everyone looked at each other sideways _"Albel would have? Since when?"_

Albel was similarly confused with himself, though it didn't show behind his scowl._ "What? No, I wouldn't have! Its their own stupid fault…Maggots" _"That worms probably too afraid she'll go broke…" Albel muttered.

"Uh, whatever you say Albel…" Replied Cliff "Anyway, while we're waiting, I got this great joke! A Vendeeni, an Aldian and a Klausian walk into a bar…" Everyone groaned inwardly.

0o0o0o0

"Sorry we're late!" Yelled Fayt, as he came rushing down the stairs with Sophia right behind him. "Yeah! We decided we needed showers, and Fayt came to get me cause he finished first…" Quickly added Sophia. _"Well, that's a half truth…" _They both thought. "…And that's why we look so red." Finished Fayt. _"Man, that sounded lame, even to me!"_

"Its 10:37, Cliffs been telling us jokes…" Said Maria, more than a hint of accusation in her voice. Fayt and Sophia flinched a little, but luckily, Cliff didn't notice.

Fayt looked around the table and received a variety of looks from the others. Sophia was trying to focus on the rules that Nel was explaining, now that she understood them. Adray looked amused for some reason. Albel was smirking at Sophia. _"He's the jerk that got her dirty in the first place…" _Maria and Mirage just looked annoyed, probably because of them having to suffer Cliffs jokes, he couldn't really blame them. Cliff just gave him a sly wink. _"Oh, no. No no no. If he knows… I'm never going to hear the end of this…"_

"Okay! I think I've got the rules down! Lets play some blackjack." Exclaimed Sophia, startling Fayt from his thoughts.

"Hold up!" Laughed Cliff. "This is like… Sophia's 18th birthday blackjack party! We need to celebrate, with this!" Cliff put a bottle of Jack Daniel's in the centre of the table and started passing around shot glasses.

"Hey… This looks good Cliff…" Said Adray, with a suspiciously hungry gleam in his eye.

"Isn't that… Really expensive?" Ventured Maria hesitantly.

"Who cares fool…" Muttered Albel. "Lets get started already."

"It's been brewed since 1900 AD or something on earth…" Continued Maria, completely ignoring Albel's last statement.

"Close, its actually 1866 AD." Corrected Cliff. "But this is a celebration!"

Things were about to get interesting this evening on the Moonlight…

* * *

**A/N: **Please read and review, if you hate mail me or flame my first fanficI _will _kill you... 


	2. Sophia's Birthday Party

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! And I don't own anything to do with Jack Daniel's either!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Sophia's Birthday party**

Peppita peeked out from her doorway. The coast was clear, no one in sight… and she could hear the sounds of people talking and laughing downstairs. She checked her watch. 10:35. _"That's enough time for everyone to be occupied, but I'd better take a peek and see if they're all down there…" _Peppita slowly crept closer toward the stairs, but just before she stepped around the last corner she heard two pairs of running feet, and ducked back around the corner.

"Hurry up Sophia! We're already late!" Urged Fayt in a rather worried tone.

"We are _so _busted! They'll figure us out for sure!" That was Sophia, she sounded even more worried.

"Just tell them a half truth… Shh, we're here…" Whispered Fayt, as the two practically flew past Peppitas hiding spot and down the stairs.

"_Okay… what was that all about?" _Wondered Peppita. _"Well, that means everyone must be playing cards now. I'd better get to Rogers room before he starts being mean to me and saying I'm slow…"_ Peppita crept off to Rogers room, but she was still trying to figure out what Fayt and Sophia were hiding…

0o0o0o0

"Okay, now that the bets are in… This is how we're deciding who drinks what…" Said Cliff as everyone else was looking at his or her cards. Cliff, being the dealer, had a spare moment to lay down some rules. "The _winner _of each hand does one shot and if you get blackjack, you get the dealership and have to do three shots…" Cliff grinned. _"This is going to be fun… I hope Mirage wins a lot, then maybe she won't be mad at me…"_

"Okay Cliff, sure thing. Hit me!" Fayt declared.

"One more card, coming right up." Answered Cliff as he dealt Fayt another card. The game was on.

0o0o0o0

"Oh, come on Peppita! I was waiting forever! Even though we agreed to meet in my room, I almost came looking for you…"

"Roger! I _told _you, Fayt and Sophia were in my way!" Protested Peppita. "So what did you want to do anyway?"

"Oh yea! I almost forgot! I had a look around earlier and they have these bubbly pool things on the topmost deck! We should go swimming!" Roger, now having completely forgotten Peppitas lateness, said enthusiastically.

"You mean spa pools? Awesome! But… I don't have my swimming stuff with me… Its all the way back in my room." Replied Peppita, a sad note in her voice.

"That's okay! Because I'm a gentleman, you can borrow my swimming trunks!" Declared Roger proudly.

"Oh Roger! Don't you know anything? I'm a girl! I can't wear just trunks, I need a top too!" The ensuing argument was quite loud and it would have been heard downstairs except the sounds of a full swing alcohol, and cash fuelled card game were easily drowning it out, and someone just turned on the stereo too.

0o0o0o0

"Woohoo!" Screamed Sophia. "Blackjack! Give me that money! Give me that deck of cards Cliff!"

"Sure thing Sophia…" Cliff smoothly replied, and then he grinned and said. "And… Heres your three shots…" The game was in full swing and everyone seemed to be having equal luck, therefore, no one was broke and everyone was starting to get drunk.

"Okay Sophia, don't let that power go to your head." Replied Mirage, still as smooth as ever.

"True… But dealer is the best position, so I'm raising the bet…" Said Sophia with a gleam in her eye that would have put many a hardcore gambler to shame. It seemed there was a change in the atmosphere, playtime was over. Sophia was really pushing the game now, and very soon someone would be leaving broke…

0o0o0o0

"About time you got up here!" Stated Roger. "I've been waiting for hours…"

"No you haven't. Its only 11:05, and we last saw each other at 10:45! Did you go to Cliffs room?" Questioned Peppita.

"Of course!…" Declared Roger with a flourish. "I even got two big glasses for us and filled both right up!"

"You did make _sure _the bottle said whiskey? That's what Cliffs story was about…"

"Yea, yea. We drink the whole thing in one gulp right? This ones yours." Offered roger. The two of them put the glasses to their lips and hesitated…

"Lets get in the pool first." Said Peppita hastily, not wanting to back down from drinking it, but wanting to put it off. "Then we drink, ok?"

"Yea! Sounds good! Jump in." Both sat in the spa pool and looked at each other and the glasses. "Well… Since I'm a gentleman, ladies first?" Suggested Roger.

"Really? But I thought you would be dying to go first, being such a real man and all, I couldn't take the opportunity from you…" This definitely struck a chord with Rogers pride. And he instantly downed the whole glass of straight whiskey. Which caused a lot of coughing and choking. "Are you ok? Is it really safe to drink?" Peppita asked sceptically.

"Yea… tastes great… it's just a big glass, and it went down the wrong way…" Roger managed to cough out. Roger eagerly watched Peppita raise the glass to her lips. _"If I had to suffer that, she does too… Have I got something in my eye? It's a little blurry…" _Peppita had now copied Roger and was coughing much the same.

"Arrgh! That was horrible! Roger… Hey… Why don't you have the bubbles on…?" Peppita slowly said.

Roger went bright red and mumbled sheepishly. "I didn't know how to turn them on…"

"Oh!" Exclaimed Peppita. "Just push the buttons!" She jumped up clumsily and fell over, but landed right next the control panel. "Which one… Oh well… This one first!" She pushed the first button next to her and suddenly the lights all went out and the sound of machinery could be heard. "Whoops…" Then the roof began to split and rolled back to reveal a glass dome, and beyond that, a beautiful starry sky. Slowly, dim lights came on around the room, giving it a romantic feel.

"Wow…" Whispered Roger. "It's real romantic and stuff, no wonder this ship is called Moonlight…"

"Awwwww, Roger. You really _are _sweet…" Said Peppita, with more than a little bit of a slur evident in her voice.

Roger just grinned and returned countered with an equally slurry compliment. "Thank you Peppita… Now, I'll have a go at those bubbles!" Roger tried leaning over Peppita to press another button, this would have been tricky in a spa pool if they were both sober… Miraculously Roger got the button before falling on Peppita and plunging them both into the now very turbulent water.

0o0o0o0

"Well well well. I guess this rounds mine, five cards under 21. That makes this a sizeable amount of cash for me and a goodnight shot." Said Adray happily.

"What? You're leaving early, at 11:20, with that much of the money, maggot? Some of us don't have a lot left, fool. And you always preach about things like _sharing_…" Spat Albel in return.

"Always quit when you're ahead. Only at my age, do I understand the true way to play cards. Goodnight guys." Adray scooped his winnings into a small sack and tied it to his waist. A murmur of "Goodnights" Came from the table as Adray stood up to leave. As Adray walked behind Albel a claw stuck out and cleanly sliced the cord on the sack, then deftly caught the sack and hid it under the table. Everyone was either too busy or drunk to notice, especially Adray as he trudged upstairs.

"_That maggot deserves it. Now I'm back in the game." _Albel smoothly emptied some of the sack in front of him on the table and hid the rest of the bag in his pocket for use later. No one noticed the smooth action, yet it didn't take Cliff long to notice the new pile of cash.

"Hey Albel, where did that come from? Didn't you just say something about running low on cash?" Queried Cliff with a rather confused look on his face.

"Its called bluffing you fool. I thought a worm like you knew how to take advantage of this game." Albel shot Cliff a look that would have killed lesser men.

"Oh yea…" said Cliff slowly. A rather large grin appeared on his face. "You know Albel, you're _my_ kind of Blackjack player, real serious."

"Whatever maggot. Who's dealer again? Lets get playing fools…"

The game had taken an interesting turn. Sophia had gained dealership again, had more than she started with and was a bit drunk, going clockwise, Fayt had a bit more than he started with and was quite drunk, Maria was almost broke and very drunk, Mirage had about the same as she stated with and was a little drunk, Cliff was on par with Sophia and the two were almost competing, next was Adrays empty seat, followed by Nel who was in the same situation as Maria, and lastly was Albel who had Adrays money and was almost sober, having one practically nothing.. Nel and Maria were hardly focusing on the game, and were staring at each other across the table.

"_I wonder if pink is really her natural hair colour… Its very… very… bright… and pink." _Unbeknownst to Maria, Nel was thinking along the same lines…

_"I wonder if Maria's natural hair colour is blue… It looks beautiful… and… very… blue…"_

Suddenly both girls went bright red and looked down at their cards, trying to fake serious interest in the game and their cash that was at stake. Because the same thought went through their minds simultaneously, _"I wonder what other hair on her body is blue/pink..." _Nobody else noticed the looks between them and that round they were both too distracted to play properly and went broke.

"What? Oh, I'm out of money… Ok, goodnight…" Slurred Maria unhappily.

"Me too…" Agreed Nel, with a dismal look on her face. "I'm not tired, want to do something else Maria?" Nel gasped inwardly. _"Oh, Apris! I can't believe I just said that! After thinking those thoughts before… Awwwww, I can't back down now, maybe she'll say no…"_

"Yea, sounds cool. I'm not that tired anyway. Uh, there are spa pools on the upper deck. Fancy a swim?" Replied Maria before realizing what she had said. _"Oh no! NO! She's going to be in a swimsuit! I guess I just have to restrain myself…"_

"Um, get changed and meet you up there in 10 minutes, about 11.40?" Coolly replied Nel, yet she was screaming inside about whether this was a good or bad thing.

"Sounds fine." Said Maria even though she knew it was anything but fine… nevertheless she followed Nel upstairs.

"Just the five of us huh?" Said Cliff to no one in particular.

"Congratulations, the worm can count." Said Albel bitterly as he moved into Nels empty seat, he needed some space. He really didn't want Sophia right beside him on a winning streak, his mood was bad enough.

0o0o0o0

Roger and Peppita managed to drag themselves up from under the water and out of the spa onto the surrounding deck where they promptly collapsed in a heap on top of each other. "Roger… That was soooo not cool…" Moaned Peppita, after coughing up a fair bit of water.

"Uh, yea… Sorry… I can make it up to you if you like?" Said Roger after regaining enough breath to talk.

"Yea, you better. But… How? I know you won't come shopping with me…" Thought Peppita out loud with a sad note in her voice..

"_Yea… She's right. No way am I going shopping… But I've got to do something…" _Roger looked over at Peppita and was struck with an idea. "I'll make it up to you right now."

"What are you…" Peppitas voice was drowned out as Roger covered her mouth with his. After about a minute Roger retracted his tongue and bought his lips away. "Wow, Roger… Um, we should get moving before someone comes up here… And get out of these wet things… Can I come back to your room for a… Towel?" Asked Peppita shyly.

"True, someone might come up if they go broke at cards… Its 11:38 now, so lets go." Roger started to lead the way downstairs, but thankfully his big ears saved them… "Wait!" He whispered and dragged Peppita behind a sunbed near the door. "I hear someone coming…"

"Hello? Nel? Oh, I must be here first…" Drawled Maria as she stumbled into the room. _"Why is the spa already on? Oh well, I'm jumping in, its cold in this bikini. Why did I wear something so skimpy! Because I want her to take it off anyway… No! Bad thoughts! Get out of my head!" _Maria climbed into the spa and started to warm up and relax. Roger and Peppita took the opportunity to not so quietly race and stumble downstairs and off to Rogers room, once inside, Roger started getting towels and Peppita fumbled with the door lock till it clicked.

"Roger… Come here…" Softly said Peppita and beckoned with her index finger, she was sick of playing around. _"Cliff was right, that whiskey stuff does make good stories…"_

"I've got you a towel." Offered Roger, holding out a towel to Peppita.

"I don't care, I didn't really want it…" Said Peppita as she pushed the offered towel away and pushed Roger onto the bed then leapt on top of him. "You're mine now…"

0o0o0o0

"_Maybe I should pretend I fell asleep… It's not too late, I can go back to my room." _Despite trying to talk herself out of it, Nel was still walking up to the spa deck. As the spas came into view at the top of the stairs Nel could see Maria leaning back in the spa with her eyes closed, her knees felt weak. _"God she's beautiful… I just want to… No! I have to keep it together… I'll just pretend this is a mission of some sort or something…" _Nel walked over to the spa and slid in next to Maria. "Hi…" She said a little nervously.

"Hm? Oh, Nel, it's you. This is soooo relaxing, I was almost asleep…" Maria replied dreamily, and then she looked at Nel and blushed. Nel blushed back, and right then they both knew that they were thinking exactly the same thing…

0o0o0o0

"Damn it! I'm out! Flat. Broke." Complained Fayt, becoming quieter and sadder with every word. He stood up and looked at all the other players. Cliff was trying not to laugh; Mirage was wearing her serene smile. _"That smile has never annoyed me until now…" _Sophia looked sad that Fayt was leaving. And Albel… _"Albel… That jerk… How much money did he bring to this game? Its like an endless stream, and he keeps losing… Stop smirking you bastard!" _"Okay… Well, I'm not tired yet either, so I'm going up to the spas with Maria and Nel… Night guys." He shot Sophia a look which said: I'll see you later, in your room, ok? Sophia winked back at him.

"Tough luck kid…" Said Cliff, unsuccessfully trying to keep the amusement out of his voice, as Fayt disappeared upstairs

"_Oh well, its only money… And Sophia will be waiting for me later. At least I can relax in the spa… What's the time?" _He checked his watch, 12:03;_ "They should still be up there. I'll just get changed and head up." _Fayts mood was rising at the thought of just hanging out with Nel and Maria while relaxing in the spa. He tried to hurry to his room, but started stumbling worse. _"Man, I am pretty sloshed… Sophia can definitely hold her alcohol well… I wonder if this really is her first night drinking… Well, Everyone's going to be feeling it tomorrow…"_

0o0o0o0

"I hate to say it guys… I really do. But, we have no more Jack Daniels..." Sighed Cliff, and indicated the five empty one-litre bottles around the room. "Shall we just call it a tie?" Albel instantly stood up and started scooping his winnings up, it was more than he bought to the table, but less than what he 'borrowed' from Adray.

"Alright maggots, I'm bored anyway. I'm going to bed. Any fool that wakes me up will suffer…" Snarled Albel as he stormed upstairs.

"Hehehe… He must have been having fun, he stuck around, but he's still so angry huh?" Asked Sophia. "But tonight it really doesn't bother me! I'm 18! I'm rich! I'm drunk! And its 01:08! Not too mention I probably won't remember this…" _"And Fayt's probably waiting in my bed right now…"_ She went weak at the knees just from thought.

"Agreed!" Slurred Cliff. "Well, except for the 18 bit… You didn't get very drunk or win or lose almost anything Mirage…" Cliff looked at Mirage in a perplexed manner.

"Well, Cliff…" Said Mirage with a sly smile. "I have neutral luck I guess… Anyway, Can I have a word with you in the kitchen? Night Sophia." Mirage dragged Cliff into the Kitchen, but not before Cliff had gathered his newfound wealth.

Sophia flicked off the music, _"Funny? I hardly even noticed the music…" Then w_ent upstairs looking forward to an already warmed bed. _"This is like the best birthday ever! I'm coming Fayt! Well, not literally. Not yet… Haha!"_

Little did the gang know that very few of them would wake up feeling very happy in comparison to how they felt before the memories of the night became completely clouded over by alcohol. The Moonlight had that reputation…

* * *

**A/N:** I hope that was IC... Reviews appreciated, no flames, tell me mistakes, and i will fix them. Had to have Albel do something evil. Wait for the morning chaos... If my computer keeps it together expect an update before friday. 


	3. Mistakes, mistakes

**A/N: **From this chapter onward, there is sexual content, character death and coarse language is used. You have been warned now, as to avoid spoiling the suspense.

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! And I don't own anything to do with any alcohol or the after-effects! Thankfully…

**Chapter 3: Mistakes, mistakes…**

"_Hmmm… I feel… Good… This morning…" _Thought Fayt, as he woke up yet he didn't open his eyes. _"I'm not even hung over from last night, well it is fuzzy, but who cares… Hey… I'm naked, and…" _Fayt snuggled up closer to the warm body in front of him and nuzzled his face in her hair. _"Hehe… Sophia's naked too… Hmm…" _Fayt slid his hands down Sophia's body, just enjoying the comforting feeling of her body, not trying to start anything. _"What time is it?" _Fayt rolled over and hung his head over the edge of the bed, forced his eyes open and started looking for his watch. _"Grrr… Where is it? Ah, 6:57, hmm, early. Wait…" _Something didn't look right, Fayt sat bolt upright. _"What the fuck? This isn't my room! I'm sure it isn't even Sophia's room!" _He spun around to check if Sophia was next to him. What he saw shocked him and sent him scurrying to the far corner of the bed…

0o0o0o0

Cliff was happy this morning too. He had woken a few moments earlier, yet hadn't opened his eyes, still, he could tell he was sleeping with Mirage in his embrace. _"Who's the man? Yea baby! That's me! I knew I could turn her around… And I bought her back to my bed… That's the way, I claimed her!" _Cliff opened his eyes and, staring up, his manly victory shattered before him. _"My ceilings not pink…… This isn't my room! SHE took ME home! The shame!" _Cliff leapt out of bed, dragging half the blankets with him, and turned around to stare at Mirage in disbelief. Her naked form was now rather exposed… _"My pride! How… Wow… She looks stunning… Stuff the pride!" _Cliff almost instantly forgot his machismo and very enthusiastically jumped back into the bed.

0o0o0o0

"_Where are my pyjamas?" _thought Roger, rather perplexed at his missing clothing. He rolled over and saw Peppita next to him, and sat up suddenly. _"Oh yea! Arrgh… I shouldn't have done that… I've got a really bad headache now…" _"Awwwww…" Roger moaned out loud and clutched at his aching head, this woke Peppita up, and she was instantly worried.

"What's wrong?" She practically yelled as she started to sit up, then fell back down. "Awwwww, I see now… Ouch…" She moved closer to Roger and embraced him. "Lets just lie here for a while, 'kay?"

"Great idea Peppita, almost as good as last nights ideas…"

"Hehe… Yea…"

0o0o0o0

"_Grrr, I wish I could sleep. I'm soooo tired…" _Albel had hardly slept. He had lain awake tossing and turning all night. Nightmares plagued his dreams, faceless swordsmen repeatedly came for him, he was unable to defend himself. Some one was trying to reach him… But he was forever beyond their reach. He felt himself sliced apart again, again, again, again… And it was always raining… raining… raining… The rain was worse than the swords… The sound and feel of every drop colliding with his hair was an omen of death… _"Gah! Again! What is this dream? Why does it repeat on me?" _Albel was sitting up in bed gasping for breath and soaked with sweat… He stared about uncertainly in the gloom… But eventually lay down and tried to rest without falling asleep, he wasn't leaving his room any time soon…

0o0o0o0

Fayt was speechless, there, at the head of the bed lay not one, but TWO people. _"Maria and Nel… Maria and Nel… I didn't, I couldn't… but they're both naked… Did I cheat on Sophia?…" _Fayt had dragged the blanket with him, and left them with most of the sheets. However, they both noticed the temperature change and began to stir. Both wriggled and opened their eyes at the same time to be confronted with each others faces.

"Ahhhhh!" Both girls screamed in unison, horrified looks instantly appearing on their faces.

'G-guys? M-m-morning?" Fayt stuttered hopefully, in an attempt to restore their sanity and bring the situation back to rational thought.

Maria and Nel both turned to look at him. "Ahhhhh!" Both girls screamed in unison again. Then everyone went silent and just looked at each other. No one was willing to say anything, no one wanted to. Eventually Fayt ventured some words.

"Uh… did we really…"

"Yes…" Maria finished for Fayt with a rather shaky voice.

"Awwwww! I cheated on Sophia! My girlfriend!" Whined Fayt to no one in particular.

"So did I…" Sighed Nel, an exasperated look showing clearly on her face.

"Wait… You both have girlfriends? Since when?" Queried Maria. There was a slight hint of jealousy and hurt in her voice, yet the others either didn't notice, or took no heed. _"This probably will never happen again! That's not fair! Only once… I suppose once is better than never, but still…"_

"I have to get out of here, before Sophia finds out! This never happened right? Cool." Fayt scrambled out of bed, pulled on his swimming trunks and bolted out the door without waiting for an answer. Maria and Nel just looked at each other.

Maria was first to speak. "Did you see how big his…"

"Yep." Nel said quickly before Maria could finish.

"Don't you feel… Sorta… Like we…" Maria tried again.

"Yep." Nel cut in again.

"Do you still feel…" Maria was cut off once again as Nel leaned over and locked her lips onto Maria's.

"_Apris, Clair would kill me… But I've done it once, a second time makes no difference, and I can't help it… She just makes me want to…" _Nel didn't really want to finish the sentence in her head so she settled for action instead.

"_Ahhhhh… Yes… This IS what I want too… Fayt can go on hold…" _Maria was loving this attention. Nel had started kissing down her neck and her mouth was making straight for Maria's nipples. Nel hesitated before touching them; they were standing out rock hard just aching to be touched. "Nel… Don't tease me… please…" Nel blew cold air on Maria's nipples, followed by hot air, then she began alternate between hot and cold. Maria just moaned and wriggled.

"You really want this don't you? Why are you so eager?" Said Nel teasingly. She was curious, but liked to tease as well. So she indulged in both aspects.

"Uh… Last night… Ahhhhh… I, oh!" Maria struggled to say anything at all because Nel was _trying_ to put her off. Nels tongue and hands were busy on her nipples, sucking, licking and rolling them between her fingers.

"What was that?" Nel asked again, she was really enjoying watching Maria in this state, so she kept her fingers on Maria's nipples and started kissing lower and lower.

"_If I don't say this soon I never will…" _Realized Maria. "Until… Last night… I was a… Virgin!" Maria gasped out; the last word was practically screamed as Nel's tongue reached Maria's most sensitive areas.

"Hmm. That's why you taste so good…" Mumbled Nel. _"Apris! I'm not kidding! She _does_ taste good…" _Nel was thoroughly enjoying this and thought the morning had started quite well, all things considered.

0o0o0o0

Fayt couldn't take the guilt, the shame. _"How could I be so stupid? I abandoned the love of my life for a one-night stand! Ahhhhh!"_ Fayt was getting really angry with himself now; he'd never be able to face Sophia again… He stalked across the room, and smashed his fist against the window switch. A light blinked green and the window slid up. He could see the Palmira plains spread before him; a light breeze blew against his face, yet it did little to ease his anger. As he stared at the scenery outside trees began to explode or shatter, the earth erupted in places causing large showers of dirt to spread around. Fayt knew he was causing all this with his destruction gene but he didn't care. After 10 minutes or so, when the view from Fayts room was almost completely shattered, he closed the window and staggered towards the bed, which he immediately collapsed upon. _"I'm so exhausted… And pissed off! What time is it? 10:47, everyone's probably up now… Well, after last night, maybe not…" _Fayt drifted into sleep, such excessive use of his destruction gene had rendered him almost unconscious. He was still just as angry though.

0o0o0o0

It was 4:34 in the afternoon and Sophia hadn't seen Fayt all day. Everyone else, with the obvious exceptions of Albel and herself, had gone to the beach for the day. _"Maybe he's still hung over? Should I knock? Or just go in?" _Sophia stood hesitantly against outside Fayts door. _"This is stupid! Of course he wants to see me!" _She stepped forward and the door slid open, yet she wasn't expecting to see Fayt sitting on the edge of the bed leaning the side of his head against the wall. She didn't really know what she was expecting. His eyes were closed. _"I wonder if he's sleeping? That's a really weird way to sleep…"_ Before she could say anything Fayt spoke.

"What do you want?" He spat the words almost violently; his tone was harsh. He couldn't face her… He couldn't face her… Yet Sophia wasn't dissuaded.

"I came to see how you are silly!" Sophia replied in an upbeat manner, trying very unsuccessfully to lighten the mood.

"I'm fine! I don't need YOU! JUST FUCK OFF NOW!" Fayt stood and stepped forward until he was suddenly yelling right in her face. He was angry with himself, but he took it out on her. He really didn't want her here, now. Not after what he did. He couldn't face her. He wanted to be alone. Deserved to be.

Shock was written all over Sophia's face, confused thoughts raced through her mind. _"He hates me… It's all over… Our love wasn't real, I was probably just a toy to him…" _It only took a fraction of a second for Sophia to burst into tears and run from the room.

Unfortunately for Fayt, it took a little longer for him to realize what he had done, and how she saw his words. As understanding dawned he instantly raced after her. _"No! I am so stupid, again! How am I going to fix _this_ mess?"_

Sophia had stopped running and she leaned against the wall of the hallway opposite a door. She didn't know where she was in the ship, didn't care. _"Why? Why? Why?" _She couldn't think of anything else, her brain wasn't working.

Fayt rounded the corner of the hallway and saw her. "Sophia! Wait!" He yelled, she glanced at him and threw herself at the door opposite her. It automatically opened just in time and she disappeared into the dark, unlit room. As Fayt neared the still open door he heard her scream:

"Deep!…" Fayt was no fool. He had heard her say that word hundreds of times before… But only on the battlefield. And knowing exactly what was to follow, he turned around and fled in the direction he came.

"FREEZE!" Fayt was sure that was the last word he would ever hear.

He dived forward to put as much space as possible between him and the walls and floor. Fayt instantly felt the air temperature around him plummet. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, he could see the ice forming along the walls beside him, as it overtook him slowly. He seemed suspended in midair and he looked down a tunnel of ice with the hole at the end getting smaller and smaller. He felt the ice begin to touch him from all sides. He was going to be frozen to death by his girlfriend over a misunderstanding. How tragic. Fayt closed his eyes and thought: _"Well, I deserve it. What goes around, comes around…" _Fayt was jolted back to reality as his head crashed into the Moonlights unforgiving floor as he landed. He turned around and saw that most of the hallway was frozen over into a large block of ice. Due to his shock it never occurred to him that by using his destruction gene, the whole block could be shattered with a mere thought. Therefore, Sophia would be in that room for a long time…

0o0o0o0

"I hope you froze him to death. That would make up for annoying me, fool." Sophia turned, in the dim light she saw that she had just trapped herself in a small room with Albel 'The Wicked' Nox, and he wasn't being very nice about it. No surprise there.

"What if I did kill him? Fayt's my boyfriend!" Sophia cried. The full implications of her actions had only just struck her; she didn't care if she revealed her secrets right now.

"Oh really? So what if you did? The maggot must have done something to deserve it, or maybe you really are just a fool…" Albel taunted, a sadistic smirk appeared on his face.

Sophia didn't care what he said, she just threw herself at Albel, and knocked him onto the bed, hugging him tightly. She really needed someone to hug right now and even Albel would suffice. _"What have I done? What have I done?"_

Albel was greatly taken aback by this sudden gesture. "Uh…" He murmured. _"What should I do?" 'Kill her!' _Screamed his inner voice, it demanded blood for this insult. _" No… Wow, she is warm_…" Albel instinctively returned the gesture and hugged her back, ignoring his inner voice for once. Albel kissed her forehead, whether from lust or kind-heartedness he couldn't say. He sure hoped it wasn't kind-heartedness. Sophia raised her head and looked perplexedly down into Albel's crimson eyes, for a few seconds, before shyly leaning forwards and kissing him on the lips. Neither retreated and they stayed that way for a brief moment, until Sophia forcefully shoved her tongue into Albel's mouth.

"_Why am I doing this? Oh, it just feels right! And my boyfriend is dead anyway…" _Sophia started rubbing her hands down Albel's body. She could feel his rippling muscles, taut and powerful. She sat up breaking the kiss and tugged on his top till he moved up enough to remove it. She slid her hand under his skirt and could feel his manhood, it was slowly hardening in her small palm, it was much bigger than Fayts and she was unsure if she could take something this size.

"Awwwww…" Albel began to moan. Her delicate touch was driving him wild, yet it was almost teasing too. _"She must have done this before… Or she's a natural… Uh, no, that is definitely skill_…" Albel began to squirm in underneath her and she giggled. _"You're not getting your way that easily…" _He reached up and slid her jacket from her shoulders, followed by everything on the uppermost half of her body. He slowly began to rub his hands all over her and she shivered at his touch.

"_I SO shouldn't be doing this… But it feels so good… I never would have thought Albel could be so… so… arousing… Ahhhhh…" _Sophia was lost in her feelings. She couldn't think, she could only act on her desire, she wasn't even aware of how far she was going with Albel. Then suddenly she felt his length fill her and she snapped back to awareness. She realized they were both completely naked and she was writhing in pleasure on top of him, these amazing sensations seemed to go on for an eternity. When the intense feelings subsided Sophia was completely drained, she fell off Albel onto his bed and went practically straight to sleep.

0o0o0o0

Albel was aware of a soft warm glow on his face, he cracked an eyelid open to decipher the origin of the offending light. _"Grrr, what is that? …_ _Fire?" _Albel could observe a figure holding an outstretched flame covered palm against the retreating ice, a tunnel was being cut into the block and water was flowing into the room and down a convenient drain located near the doorstep. However water was flowing quite freely from the figures face, despite the fact that the face was turned away it was quite clear. It took Albel quite a while to realize that it was a flow of tears. _"Bah, pathetic girl… Waste of my time…" _With that last spiteful thought Albel rolled away from the scene and returned to what little sleep he could get amongst his nightmares.

**A/N: **SO sorry about the wait, I got caught in another fic, its 100chapters long, and I'm only on chapter 84… I've been reading it for days… And then the site wouldn't upload this. And another update for this doesn't seem likely this week; I have a really hectic workweek, two 12-hour days in a row… But I hope you enjoy this most definitely M rated piece! Please review! And ideas are welcome too, it may speed the update.


	4. Technology for Albel

**A/N: **I think the best paragraph I have ever written is contained in this chapter; it's the interaction between Sophia and Fayt. There's Albel vs. technology in this chapter and the song is to the tune of: Limp Bizkit "Break Stuff" Also, if anyone can tell me where some of the foreshadowing in this chapter lies, you get a reward! You can find out when you win. If anyone can win… lol

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! Neither do I own any of the song tunes! And I don't own anything to do with any alcohol at all!

**Chapter 4: Technology for Albel**

Albel was having an extraordinary morning. He had slept all through the night without any nightmares… _"What? … No… Nightmares? Why now?" _Albel rolled over and noticed the ice tunnel leading from his room. It had melted a little bit at the doorway, and the automatic door was sliding forward, knocking on the ice then retreating into its alcove, it repeated this action every second or so. _"Grrr… That damn door! And that ice… I'm settling this right now…" _Albel dragged himself out of bed and buckled on his Crimson Scourge, a habit for as long as he could remember, equipping your sword first thing in the morning was always a good thing. Albel swallowed his pride for a bit and lowered himself to crawling into the tunnel. _"Grrr, if anyone sees me doing this… Crawling like a worm…" _Once Albel reached the middle of the tunnel, he drew his katana and drove it straight down into the ice. The resulting cracking sound left his ears ringing for a few seconds and he briefly wondered if he was deaf, yet his hearing returned rather quickly. But more importantly the remainder of the block of ice had large cracks throughout its length. As his hearing began to return he could vaguely hear pounding footsteps, ignoring the pointless sound and mustering all of his strength, Albel twisted the sword sideways. The ice and steel groaned, creaked and protested as one until the entire block shattered and collapsed, with Albel still in the tunnel.

0o0o0o0

Cliff was first to react to the sound of the ear shattering cracking sound that was heard through the entire length of the ship, fearing severe damage, he raced in that direction as fast as only a Klausian can and upon getting closer met Mirage, Roger, Peppita and Adray. They were stepping out of the lounge, and also heading for the disturbing echo.

"Did you guys hear that?" Cliff practically yelled as he sped past them, Mirage fell into step with Cliffs lightning pace.

"It didn't sound like any damage to the ship, it sounded more like… Ice, or glass…" Mirages musings were cut short when from around the next corner there was yet another horrific shattering sound, not cracking this time, but definitely smashing. The astonished Cliff and Mirage rounded the corner, followed shortly by the rest of the group, and were rendered speechless. The hallway was almost full of pieces of ice. Big, small, tiny, huge and every other size you could name.

"Anyone… Got a snowboard?" Asked Roger, his sense of humour having failed to leave him. Yet no one could reply before the tip of the ice rubble began to move a little, suddenly it erupted, and there stood Albel 'The Wicked' Nox. He was panting and shaking but nevertheless smirked at the stunned onlookers before turning to his door. The automatic door opened and Albel stoically rode the ensuing mini landslide through his door, he pressed the manual close button, which crushed the ice and sealed the door.

"Well, it seems something very… Interesting… Is afoot here…" Wondered Adray out loud while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I think we won't find anymore answers here." Adray turned and calmly walked away, scratching his chin all the while. Mirage and Cliff looked at each other before deciding to discuss this further and heading in the opposite direction. Peppita looked at Roger and a grin spread over her face. Roger grinned back.

"Lets make snowmen!" The pair yelled at each other. They proceeded to dive into the ice, and after discovering it wasn't snowman material, they quickly began an ice ball fight. They were heedless of the damage large chunks of ice could do to ones body; yet Rogers helmet and Peppitas agility allowed them to sustain minimal damage. The only way they were leaving this much fun was hypothermia or unconsciousness…

0o0o0o0

Another extraordinary thing happened to Albel as he happened to look down at the ice around his feet. He spotted a small white stick-like object, amongst the ice. Because this ship was impeccably clean, it really stuck out. He picked it up and it was about half the length of his hand, it had a string wrapped around itself, along its length was several button things. _"What is this weird object? … It's made out of that 'plastic' material they're always talking about…" _Albel unwrapped the string and inspected the ends. It had circular discs with tiny grills over them. _"Uh… Lets just push the buttons…" _Albel looked closely the leftmost button, it had a small triangle symbol on it and the triangle extended towards the right. _"I wonder if it's pointing in that direction for some reason? … Who cares?" _Albel pushed the button and the tiny discs on the end of the string began to vibrate and a squeaky noise came from them. He put them up to his ear to hear the sound better and was surprised to find the sound was a lot more like music up close. A sudden thump against the steel wall of his room bought him back to focusing on the present. Yet, before he could react a shrill scream was heard.

"Ahhhhh! You BASTARD!" It was a high-pitched childlike voice.

"_Seems like the little worms have picked up some of the blonde apes best vocabulary… Little maggots…" _Albel ignored the ensuing screams and obvious sounds of fighting and returned to studying his newfound plastic stick. He pressed another button and a holographic screen popped up above the stick _"Whoa! What's this?" _Albel poked at the hologram and things changed and moved around. _"Hmmm… Maybe I can get this stick thing to make good music…" _He lay back on the bed and started fiddling with his new stick.

0o0o0o0

Sophia was heading to the kitchen when she heard the sound of her ice exploding. _"Oh. That would have been… Albel…" _The mere thought of his name sent shivers down her spine. She hurried around the corner and crashed right into Fayt. "Uh. Sorry…" She almost whispered in apology and looked down. _"I feel so guilty for almost killing him, and… Sleeping with… Albel… I bet he knows, he must hate me…" _Sophia chanced a glimpse upward and saw Fayts look become equally pained. _"He probably feels bad for yelling at me though…"_

"That's… Okay." Replied Fayt in a voice as calm as he could muster. He looked away to avoid Sophia's gaze. _"I can't believe I yelled at her like that… Not to mention Maria and Nel, she must know by now… I bet she thinks I'm a real bastard…" _As he tried to go around her, she accidentally tried the same thing and they ended up in each other's face. Fayt had an involuntary glimpse into her eyes, they glowed slightly and Fayt felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He supposed it was the guilt written on her face that triggered it. _"She probably feels bad for almost killing me with that ice…" _Sophia turned away and practically hugged the wall. It made her look decidedly pathetic and lonely. Despite his feelings, Fayt carried on, unable to look at her.

0o0o0o0

Cliff and Mirage had found Maria and had gone to the Captain's room to discuss matters. "Uh, Maria… I know we were busy at the beach yesterday, but seriously… Clean your room… There are clothes everywhere…" Mirage said as they entered. Cliff looked around and just laughed.

"Yes, _Mother…_" Maria said with a lot more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I'm blaming it on Cliff. It was his Jack Daniels…" Maria shot Cliff a venomous glare.

"Now now… You should be thankful; the good old JD's is a rare beverage these days… I told you it wasn't cheap… There is a reason." Cliff replied with a grin on his face as he waded through the clothing and towels that littered the ground. Something odd caught his eye, Klausians have sharpened senses, and this thing stood out like a beacon to Cliff. He picked it up by the smallest possible corner and waved it at Maria. "Since when do you wear boxer shorts?"

Maria went bright red and threw the nearest thing at hand towards Cliff as she yelled, "Shut up! Its none of your business!" Maria's eyes dimly glowed, but faded back to normal rapidly.

Cliff caught the expensive vase in his other hand with ease. "Actually, there are a lot of towels in here too…" Cliff mused out loud as he put the vase down and rubbed his chin, grinning all the while.

"Cliff, we really don't want to know who, if anyone, Maria has been sleeping with…" Mirage said in a calm, yet forced voice. Cliff looked at her and she returned a cold humourless smile.

"Well, I certainly want to kn-" Cliff attempted to say. But never got any further before he had to catch a rather large book and Mirage cut him off.

"Well, I certainly _don't _want to know Cliff." There was definitely no kindness in her voice this time. If looks could kill, Cliff would be so dead. Mirage then turned to Maria and resumed her usual countenance in the blink of an eye, "Anyway, what we came to talk about was the activity of the past few days."

"Sca-ree…" Cliff muttered under his breath before adding, "Yeah, it's been rather hectic with the crew… I mean, seriously, how many people were in here the other night? Kidding! Kidding!" Cliff protested fiercely and waved both hands at them as both woman turned towards him, certain death written on their faces. Maria's eyes glowed again and Cliff could have sworn the book in her hand looked vaguely like a laser gun. He blinked and realized he must have been imagining things. _"Very sca-ree…"_

"What Cliff was _trying _to say was it's been so quiet outside of our group… We haven't intercepted any reports of anyone looking for us, no disturbances outside the ship or anything… Well, the view from Fayts room practically doesn't exist anymore, but aside from that…" Mirage let her sentence trail off.

Cliff struggled internally to refrain from asking if the destruction Fayt had been suspected of causing had anything to do with the boxer shorts. Instead he managed to get out, "Yea… The whole silence is so… So…" Cliff struggled for the right word before saying, "Federationyish… Ya know?" He looked at the girls with a questioning look.

"Federationyish? What? Lay off the drink Cliff…" Maria said in a worried tone with an even more worried look on her face. She put the book down and sat on the bed.

"Aw, shut up, you know what I mean…" Cliff replied lamely. As him and Mirage settled down into comfortable positions to begin a serious conversation, well, as serious as any conversation could be that involved Cliff…

0o0o0o0

Albel was sitting on his bed shaking his head up and down vigorously and mouthing words at an invisible audience. This wasn't like him normally, and he would never let a soul live if they saw this, but he had found something new and wonderful. The plastic stick now had the ends of its string stuck in his ears and was loudly screaming at him. After messing around enough, Albel had managed to find some music that suited him. He'd never heard anything like it, but it was damn good. He found he was mentally yelling the words at himself,

"_It's like this every day,_

_When I'm last to wake up!_

_Everybody's fucked,_

_Coz, everybody sucks!_

_I don't have to know why,_

_I don't have to justify,_

_Slicing someone's head off!_

_I don't want contact,_

_Don't you dare interact,_

_You'll forfeit your life's contract!_

_Your only chance is to run away, motherfucker,_

_It's like this every day!"_

There was no way Albel was going to lose this wonderful object. He had finally found technology he agreed with. Although he did wonder where it came from…

**A/N: **I did say the word "Federationyish" would appear again… lol, I told some people. Like it so far? Any comments? Review then please. The first person to spot the foreshadowing gets a reward remember… And there will be more of Albel's favourite music in later chapters… Ideas are appreciated too.


	5. Plots Thicken

**A/N: **I couldn't update this for some reason, but its here now, and I apologize for the long wait… And Blindspott is a band from New Zealand. I've got their CD on while I'm writing.

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! Neither do I own anything related to Blindspott. (Excluding their CD…) And I don't own anything to do with any alcohol at all! (Actually, there's a bottle of JD's in my car somewhere… But that's beside the point!)

* * *

**Chapter 5: Plots Thicken**

"Now, you two should be old enough to know that throwing ice hurts." Adray scolded the two children, after casting several spells to restore their health. Healing and Cure Condition for the most part, Roger was rather frozen by the time Peppita had her payback, "You're pretty grown up now, both of you. You should know how to behave too." Adray gave them a rather weak glare and they both smiled back innocently.

"_Grown up? After what we did the other night, I'm a REAL man by now…" _Thought Roger and he caught a look from Peppita that meant she was thinking roughly the same thing. Yet Adray didn't notice.

"I'm sorry…" Said Peppita, putting her good acting skills to use. She grabbed Rogers hand and began dragging him from the room, "We'll play nice from now on, Mirage said something about baking earlier, so we're going to go find her!"

"Yea!" Threw in Roger before they had disappeared out the door. Adray was simply left wondering about the energy of youth and he returned to reading his book.

Peppita and Roger were headed for Mirages room when they rounded a corner and saw Albel walking towards them with a glass of water. What struck them as odd though, was the way his head was nodding slightly as he walked and his lips were twitching as if he were thinking out loud. Peppita immediately bounded up to him to see what was going on, "Albel? What are you doing?"

"Huh? What does it look like; this is a glass of water. I got it from the kitchen. Think before you speak you little worm." Albel said exasperatedly after apparently scratching his left ear with his claw.

"No! The lip twitching and head bobbing!" Insisted Roger who had taken the same interest as Peppita. They now both stood in front of Albel and were blocking his path. They weren't afraid of him, they knew that he wouldn't harm them around here; there were too many people on this ship for Albel to take on by himself. That was sort of everyone's guarantee with Albel, safety in numbers.

"Hey… Is that a UMD on your ear?" Asked Peppita in an almost hushed awe. She had spotted the white stick that was clipped to Albel's ear with wires running to each one of his ears. It had become visible for a second when Albel had raised his hand to apparently scratch his ear when he was in fact pausing the music; his hair hid it rather well though.

"What? What is this nonsense of which you speak?" Replied Albel defensively; _"These two are really pissing me off, what I wouldn't give to cut them in half…" _With the current song Albel was listening to, it had him in the mood to hurt someone, anyone.

"Aw silly," Replied Peppita in a teacher like tone that further irritated the tall swordsman, "UMD stands for Universal Music Device, you can access any song from any time period from any race that is a member of the federation from anywhere in the whole universe! They're really expensive…" Peppita finished her tone becoming more awed as her speech went on.

"Well, it's mine. So stop looking at me like that, and shut up before I cut you up till your food for the maggots." Spat Albel rather nastily, his temper was at its limit and despite the fact he'd learned something, he couldn't put up with this for much longer…

"Whatever…" Drawled Roger, "You wont hurt us, 'cause we'll just tell on you. You're not so 'Wicked' around here…" Roger was rather cocky and he gave Peppita a big grin, she grinned back, knowing he was right.

Yet, with a comment like that, Albel had definitely had enough, before either could react, he passed the glass of water to his clawed hand and drew the Crimson Scourge. As he unsheathed it, he carried the motion into a swing and as his sword came around he briefly saw the looks of sheer horror and disbelief written on both of their faces as the sword struck Roger and Peppita simultaneously in the head. Of course, Albel hit them both with the flat of the blade, yet it sent both of them flying backwards down the corridor. He wouldn't have hurt them badly or he would have to deal with a pissed off Fayt AND Cliff, not to mention everyone else… "Happy now? Only a fool would piss me off, and you thought you could outsmart me by technicality… Try proving your injury to anyone."

"Ahhhhh…" Was all Roger could manage to say as Albel deftly tossed the glass back to his normal hand, raised his claw to resume the music, and strode stoically past both of them. He didn't even glance down at the floor where both children lay semiconscious. He was too occupied by thoughts about besting Fayt to care about the weak like them. Where these thoughts had suddenly come from, he wasn't sure.

0o0o0o0

Sophia's mood hadn't really lifted, she had gone down to the kitchen for a sandwich, yet had seen Albel exiting with a glass of water. She had practically bolted back the way she had come when she saw him with such an angry look on his face. Yet… When he spotted her, their eyes locked for a second, and Albel's face had gone emotionless. No smirking. No sneering. None of the typical Albel behaviour. And she also realized that when she turned and ran from him he didn't laugh until he faded from her hearing. Albel _always_ laughed at anyone that ran away from him, any_thing_ that ran away from him…

She had to stop thinking and relax and she knew it. But, to make matters worse, she had lost her precious UMD; it was a 17th birthday present from her parents and she had managed to keep a hold of it ever since Hyda IV. Now, after everything was over, she had lost it. She needed relaxing music; instead she lay down on her bed and listened to the substandard music that was on the Moonlight's databanks. She didn't like this holiday much so far, she decided to try and convince the girls to go shopping this evening, or maybe tomorrow…

0o0o0o0

Mirage let soft sighs escape her lips as Cliff left soft, slow, wet kisses down her neck. He was heading towards her breast and Mirage shivered in anticipation. _"Ahhhhh… This feels so good. I don't want anything to stop this." _She ran her fingertips in circles over Cliffs back and was rewarded with little shivers from the big man.

"Mirage!" Peppitas voice yelled enthusiastically through the locked door to the woman's room, "Why is your door locked?" Roger gave her a wink.

"Oh, shit!" Cliff whispered and urged, "C'mon, hurry up and get dressed…" Both Cliff and Mirage frantically struggled for their clothes and set about looking presentable. _"Why now? Of all possible times…"_

"One second, I'm just having an important conversation with Cliff!" Mirage yelled back as she straightened her jacket and Cliff leaned over the bed and pushed the 'Open Window' button, the room needed a little airing out…

Roger grinned at Peppita, "Conversation? Is that what they call it these days?" He whispered and she giggled back, Roger began pounding on the door, "Hurry up! You said you were going to help us with some baking! Don't go back on your word now!" He yelled in mock frustration, while he was really trying to suppress the laughter within.

"Impatient little bastard, isn't he?" Cliff whispered to Mirage as he dealt with his renegade belt, and started walking towards the door. He looked back for the signal.

"Don't let them hear you say that!" Mirage forced out as quietly as she could as she quickly straightened the bed sheets. Once done, she gave Cliff the 'Yes, open it.' signal.

Cliff hit the 'Unlock' button and two balls of energy fuelled with baking anticipation burst into the room. "What are we going to make?" Yelled Peppita, Mirage just rubbed her forehead, as she tried to bring her mind back from where it had previously been, and tried to remember some baking recipes.

"Uh… Chocolate slice and chocolate chip Biscuits? How bout that?" Mirage offered once she had decided it wouldn't be too hard to control them with a simple recipe like that. Cliff simply laughed and grinned. "What's so funny Cliff?" Mirage asked with genuine curiosity.

"Remember when I tried to help you make those on the Diplo?" Cliffs grin was rather large and both Peppita and Roger had the feeling Cliff wasn't the best cook around…

"Yea…" Replied Mirage slowly, and with a gleam in her eye said, "Crispy… Would be about the best compliment I could give. Perhaps well cooked?" At the confused look she was given by the children, Mirage elaborated, "Cliff thought adding some strong alcohol would make them better… Ever seen an oven explode? Very un-cool…"

"Ah, well, I'll just help you guys this time round, right?" He glanced at both Roger and Peppita and found that both of them looked threatened and their faces had gone rather pale, "Kidding! Kidding!" Hastily added Cliff and waved his arms defensively.

"Look you two, ignore him. We'll have dinner soon, then if we start on the chocolate slice afterwards they'll be ready for lunch tomorrow, sound good?" She was rushed by two hugging small people and smiled at Cliff, he simply smiled back.

0o0o0o0

Albel was on his way to the gym to work out. He had to keep fit, and he knew this ship had excellent facilities. Yet, he halted before the door when he heard voices, the tone suggested something secretive. Albel knew knowledge was also a form of power and anything that could help him get the better of Fayt… _"Why do I suddenly care so much that he beat me? … The blonde ape and that Aquarian wench were there too… But, it was the blue haired maggot that mocked me, and delivered the final blow… I _hate _that little bastard!" _Albel was suddenly roused from his thoughts when he heard Maria's voice speak.

"Fayt seems so down, ever since we slept together… It's sad, I'm worried about him."

"_She does sound worried to my ears, but the knowledge of an affair is far more important than her emotion to me. This is very helpful information… I must be able to use it somehow."_

"Well, it was the three of us, and we were all drunk. You can't be surprised he blames himself… That's just Fayt."

"_That Aquarian! And it was a threesome! On the night of Sophia's party nonetheless… Poor girl… WHAT! I don't give a shit about her! Why did I just think that! Arrgh, but… I can see a plan forming here…" _Albel turned away and started to head off to sort out the final details, instead of working out, before dinner as Maria began to ask Nel something about approaching Fayt. He had a plan, and it could be started right now.

0o0o0o0

Sophia had not enjoyed dinner very much. It seemed an uncomfortable silence hung in the background; everyone seemed to be aware of it. Yet no one was sure as to whom it belonged, if it was one, two, or maybe many people, possibly everyone. But they all seemed to be their usual selves. Sophia was just glad to be out of there. She was about last to leave after clearing the table and as she got to her room, she felt vaguely relaxed. The door opened automatically and she heard it slide shut behind her.

"Click"

"_Wait, that sounded like the lock… Why would the door lock?" _Sophia spun around and almost died as she came face to face with Albel Nox. She staggered backwards instead and ended up stopping against her bed. "What… Do you… Want?" She managed to choke out.

Albel slowly walked towards her. "Well, a few things… A repeat performance of the last night would be nice." There was a gleam in his eye, Sophia could tell he wasn't asking without some sort of deal, or bargain, nevertheless, she wouldn't give in easily.

"No." Spoke Sophia decisively. She wasn't going to play his games.

"But you haven't even listened to what I have to offer?" If the grin on Albel's face was any bigger, Sophia would have screamed, he was definitely scaring her.

"Look, you… You jerk, I'm not interested. There's nothing you can give me to make me do that again, it was _wrong_. My boyfriend is really alive…" Sophia was shaking inside, yet, she kept her outward appearance strong, she couldn't afford to lose any ground to this madman.

"What? Give you? I don't think so. I was going to give Fayt a detailed description of what happened… How you moaned my name…" Albel remarked in an extremely casual voice, "You can have some time to think about it, till this song is over."

The words _'What song?' _Were on Sophia's lips, yet before she could speak, Albel reached up to his left ear and bought down a tiny white stick with his clawed fingers, he began to push buttons then a rock song began playing. Sophia was seriously considering giving in to his demands, and then it clicked. "Hey! That's my UMD! Give it back!"

"What? No, I like it. I'm keeping this. If it's yours, we'll just add it into the deal." Albel smirked and clicked it off before putting it back up on his ear. "So, are you going to do what I say? In return, I won't speak about it to anyone." He gestured in a friendly deal making manner, yet could tell Sophia wasn't really buying it since she had seen the UMD.

"Actually… I… I think you… You can… Go fuck_ yourself_!" Sophia choked out. She tried to turn and run, but she was already hard up against the bed and ended up nearly diving over it into the wall. Albel lunged for her with his claw and the sound of it slicing through the air seemed to echo, swiftly followed by the sound of it making contact and shredding through soft material. Sophia crashed onto the bed with a cry and spun around to look at Albel.

"Bah." Was all he said as he held his claw in midair. From the blades hung a mess of orange and brown fur. As Albel looked at it he knew things were going very badly indeed.

"My Kitty Cat!" Shrieked Sophia. She leapt up as she grabbed her pillow and started beating him with it. She had had enough, she didn't care and she just wanted him gone.

Albel swiftly grabbed the pillow with his good hand; he couldn't afford more damage by using his claw. He threw it to the floor and stared her down. "Look. I will buy you a new one. Now just remember, my offer still stands. There are other things this information is useful for besides screwing you." He spun around and stalked from the room. Sophia simply retrieved her pillow from the floor and began to cry herself to sleep. She prayed everything would work out.

By the time he had returned to his room Albel had calmed down somewhat. He kicked back on his bed and changed the song to an old band from earth, a country called New Zealand had an old band called 'Blindspott' and their music was good for thinking. He decided he wouldn't wait; Fayt would get what was coming to him tomorrow, unless someone else thought they were better than even Fayt. He doubted that. He prayed he wouldn't suffer nightmares again, if last night was free of them, maybe they were gone? Maybe.

* * *

**A/N: **Did anyone notice the cat on her staff? I thought it was a black cat, till I saw it. I didn't like the orange one, so Ikilled it. In the next chapter you'll meet Meor, and the Crimson Scourge will speak. Expect it a lot sooner, its practically written already. I just need time to edit it! 4am is not a good time. 


	6. Meor Confronts Albel

**A/N:** Amazing, this is _practically _a double update. I had a writing buzz. And the plot finally begins to be revealed in this chapter. It isn't what you think…

**Disclaimer: **I (sadly) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! Neither do I own anything related to Limp Bizkit! However, I do own Meor, Alkyza, the plot of this story and… the Cat Doll! If you want to use any of it, please ask.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Meor Confronts Albel**

Albel wasn't having the best of mornings. The nightmares had returned last night. So after a very sleepless night, he found himself walking with most of the group towards Peterny for a morning of shopping, despite the inner voice of his mind screaming at him not to. But there was something he had to do. Albel Nox did not break promises, no matter how pointless or trivial. To be fair, he rarely made promises, let alone pointless or trivial ones.

"Why do you have to come shopping with us?" Sophia said quietly so only Albel would hear once the group of shoppers had reached the gates of Peterney. All of the group excluding Maria, Fayt and Roger were going shopping. Fayt was sulking, Maria was trying to talk to him and Roger was playing Virtual Reality games. No one noticed Sophia's quiet conversation with Albel because the bustle of Peterny drowned it out to most ears.

"I have to buy you a new Cat Doll, remember?" Answered Albel, before quickly turning and walking away. He didn't give Sophia a chance to say anything. Not that she would have been able to because she had been rendered speechless.

"C'mon Sophia! Lets go look at new clothes!" Yelled Peppita, suddenly bouncing up to the still stunned girl. Peppita promptly set about dragging Sophia away towards the clothing shops. Sophia noticed the happy looks on everyone's faces as they discussed what they were going looking for. She wished she could feel as happy but she felt that something sinister was afoot on this beautiful day.

0o0o0o0

"What? You don't sell them either?" Growled Albel in an exasperated tone to the merchant that had just nervously assured him they didn't sell Cat Dolls, "Any useless fool can make something that simple!" Albel slammed his fist down on the merchant's table. Several people began to look over at the stall as they walked past.

"Haha! Albel 'The Wicked' Nox wants a little kitty Cat Doll?" Came a taunting voice from behind him. "Guess you really are going soft…" Albel spun around and was brought face to face with a seemingly ordinary commoner, yet the smirk on his face severely irritated Albel. The man's jet-black hair and blue eyes didn't register with Albel. He had no idea who this guy even was.

"What did you say maggot?" Albel said slowly in a venom-laced voice. This guy really got on his nerves, nobody mocked him and got away with it.

"Don't even try it man. I know you're just a softie at heart." He replied confident in his knowledge, "You just aren't so wicked anymore…" This scene had drawn a small crowd of onlookers and not a few of them had looks of horror on their faces. They could sense big trouble.

"Maybe you're right… In fact, you just run along, like a good little worm, before I get really annoyed…" It seemed the entire assembled crowd could sense the false sweetness in Albel's voice, except for the commoner.

"Aw, I'm not going to run away from you. You're not as strong as you make yourself out to be. I mean seriously, run away from a man that's trying to buy a little kitty Cat Doll? Don't think…" The arrogant man's voice was replaced with a thud as several of his body parts hit the floor, one being his head. Albel wiped his katana clean and sheathed it slowly and calmly. The crowd simply stood there, unable to move or speak.

"I don't break promises. The cat's not for me." Albel spoke in a calm manner to the deceased person and he simply stepped over the body. The crowd didn't part to let him through; they bolted away in sheer terror. _"Well, that certainly boosted my reputation…" _Thought Albel smugly as he calmly walked towards the workshop, he'd have to make the stupid doll himself. If anyone had stayed around they would have heard him singing softly as he left the corpse for someone else to clean up.

"It's like this every day,

When I'm last to wake up.

Everybody's fucked,

Coz, everybody sucks.

I don't have to know why,

I don't have to justify,

Slicing someone's head off.

I don't want contact,

Don't you dare interact,

You'll forfeit your life's contract.

Your only chance is to run away, motherfucker,

It's like this every day…"

0o0o0o0

"Fayt, come on, let me in!" Begged Maria again. She felt like she had been standing outside Fayts door for hours, she probably had.

"No…" Fayt replied sulkily. He sounded almost sick to Maria. She was getting angry with him now. She glared at the little red light that indicated the door was locked.

"Click"

The light blinked to green and Maria wasn't wasting any chance she got. _"He opened it!" _She dived through the door and was surprised to see Fayt over on the bed. _"How did he unlock it from over there?" _She thought.

"What? How did you get in? I locked the door…" Fayt mumbled at her as he raised himself up on the bed. He looked genuinely puzzled.

"I thought you unlocked it!" Retorted Maria. _"I don't know what game he's playing, but it's not funny." _She stalked over towards him but he simply flopped back down on the bed.

"Whatever… Just go away… Fix the locking mechanism of the ship or something…" Replied Fayt, she was in now and there wasn't much he could do about it. He just hoped she would go away soon. He stared up at the ceiling, praying she would take the hint. Fayt was taken by surprise when he felt a warm hug around his waist. He looked down and was even more surprised to see Maria clinging to him with tears forming in her eyes.

"Fayt… I'm worried about you… Just talk to me about it. Please?" She was begging him. It slowly began to dawn on him how his selfish reclusive behaviour was affecting others. So he hugged her back and began to open up to her. She might as well know what troubled him…

0o0o0o0

Sophia had given up on clothes. When Albel walked into the shop and gave her the Cat Doll it had put her off shopping. She had asked where he bought it from and he had replied that he had had to make it. She was stunned, the craftsmanship was excellent, and it was a dark grey colour, whatever it was made of was extremely silky. He had left immediately, so she set off towards the Craftsman's Guild quite quickly to see what the rating was.

"Wow! That's really good!" Exclaimed Welch, "Did you make it Sophia?" The energetic woman always seemed a bit too obsessed with her job to Sophia. But she was definitely surprised by that question.

"Huh? You mean this hasn't been patented? Albel made it…" Sophia trailed off. If Albel made only the single one for her, she didn't want to make it for sale… "Could I just get a rating? I don't really want it to be marketed."

"Uh, Okay… Hmm… Well… Uh… I'd give it… 95!" Welch replied confidently after some deliberation. She looked like she wanted to sell it even more now…

"What?" Replied the stunned Sophia, "Um, okay, thank you… Guess I'll be seeing you round then." Sophia started edging away towards the door. She could see Welch's greedy eyes following the doll the whole way.

"Alright then… Keep inventing Sophia! We need more of your work!" Welch yelled after her as she slipped out the door. Sophia felt like going for a wander, she needed a little bit of thinking time, once again. Although it was unlikely that she would figure things out. Yet she ducked into the nearest alleyway and decided to take the long route to the town square.

Before long, she came across a little clearing among the buildings. She paused before going in when she spotted Albel; he was staring down at a cat at his feet. In fact, it looked identical to the Cat Doll that Sophia had just been given. _"What an odd coincidence…" _She thought to herself.

"_Bah, stupid feline. Get out of my way!" _Thought Albel as he glared at the offending creature in front of him. "Hiss!" Said Albel. It simply looked up at him.

"Meow…" The cat replied. It blinked and twitched its tail, yet held its ground. Albel withdrew the Crimson Scourge from its scabbard and raised it above his head, blade pointed downward.

"_Don't." _Echoed a voice within Albel's mind. It was the sword itself, talking to him.

"_You shut up!" _Albel yelled back at the sword, _"You said we would cleave enemies apart and I deem this to be my enemy!" _Albel didn't appreciate the intervention right now.

"_Really? You say this mere cat is your enemy? You would be sadly mistaken Albel…" _The katana warned him.

"_That's what you think!" _Snarled Albel inwardly as he thrust the sword downward with all of his strength. He could see the gold eyes of the cat looking up at him. He knew his aim was perfect. The Crimson Scourge sliced cleanly through the air and buried itself into the cobblestones of the alley.

"Purr…" Purred the cat as it rubbed itself against and wound itself around Albel's blade. It looked up at him with a mischievous look on its face. Albel was shocked beyond belief. He hadn't even _seen _it dodge the blade, "Meow!" Exclaimed the cat loudly.

The Crimson Scourge chuckled to Albel, _"I tried to tell you… This is no ordinary cat…"_

"_Yes, Albel is it? You should listen to your weapons more often… By the way, my name is Meor, a pleasure to meet you." _Albel staggered backwards, the cat had just spoken _inside his mind!_ Well, it was called Meor… Albel didn't know what to make of this.

"_What? What's going on here? Cat's can't talk!" _Albel mentally yelled back at the two. With the cat and his sword seemingly allied against him, Albel felt as if he was losing his grip on reality fast.

The sword sighed exasperatedly, _"Look Albel, swords can't talk either, but I am. This will be a lot simpler if you just agree to take him along with you."_

"_Exactly! Alkyza is on the loose again, and you will need me if you want any chance of defeating him once and for all. Now, I'm going to sit on your right shoulder." _Declared Meor. He had a rather refined voice, he sounded almost noble. But Albel was still reluctant to take him along; Meor's attitude didn't help.

"_Before you refuse, I'm letting you know that I stay with Meor. So if you leave him, you leave me." _The Crimson Scourge interjected before Albel could voice (Or was it think?) his disagreement. But Albel really didn't have a choice now. He couldn't abandon The Crimson Scourge in some back alley, and he couldn't take it by force.

"_Good call Crimson…" _Added Meor. The grin on his kitty face was unnerving to Albel.

"_On the condition that both of you go along with the plans that I have already set in motion. Deal?" _Albel offered, he had only just set his plan in motion against Fayt. He couldn't afford these two meddling with it. He also could see how difficult it would be for Meor to drag the katana away in his teeth too, therefore he had a bargaining chip as well.

"_Deal."_

"_Deal."_

Sophia was silent and still throughout the whole exchange between the Cat, the Sword and Albel. She didn't know what to make of it. Of course she hadn't heard a thing, their conversation had been held mentally, not vocally. Sophia was even more surprised when Albel put the cat on his shoulder after sheathing his sword. He then stoically walked away down another alley, although he did look a little uncomfortable. Sophia stepped out of hiding to watch them better as they disappeared further down their chosen path. Suddenly the cat on Albel's shoulder turned its head and winked at her. A voice floated through her mind, _"I'm Meor, pleased to meet you. And I must say, that's a very impressive figure of me in your hand, Albel made it, right?" _Sophia didn't want to hear anymore, before she knew it, she was bolting back towards the square to find the others.

* * *

**A/N:** Did you think the commoner was called Meor? No! That would have been too boring… And Keeki, your head-slicing guess at foreshadowing actually inspired me to write that scene. Hope you guys enjoyed the double update! Now, return the favour, review! And the plot pretty much starts here too… I think so anyway... 


	7. Albel's Challenge

**A/N:** Albel's plans start to come together in this chapter… It wasn't easy for me to write…

**Disclaimer: **I (very tragically) do not own Star Ocean or any of the characters, places, or anything else related to it! I do own Meor, Alkyza, the plot of this story and… the Cat Doll! If you want to use any of it, please ask.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Albel's Challenge**

Sophia was walking back towards the town square with a million thoughts buzzing around inside her head. _"What should I do? … Should I tell the others that a cat talked to me inside my head? But they would think I'm crazy… And then what should I do with this doll? Throw it away? Destroy it? But Albel gave it to me, I can't just get rid of it…"_ She was completely undecided on the matter and before she realized it a voice was calling to her.

"Hey! There you are Sophia!" It was Peppita and she full of sugar, "Why were you just in that back alley? Are you ready to go back to the Moonlight? Why do you look so confused? What are you thinking about?" Peppitas constant questions were not really helping Sophia's already muddled thought processes. Sophia looked up and saw the whole shopping group, minus Albel of course, about ready to head back to the ship. Cliff was paying for their drinks, Adray, Nel and Mirage were laughing about something. Well, Nel was smirking… And Peppita was bouncing towards her like a spring. Everything appeared so normal…

"Uh, sure Peppita. Are we going to have your baking for lunch?" Asked Sophia, hoping she could distract Peppitas questions with the thought of baking. She was in luck.

"Yes! We just have to bake them and then we can all have lunch. If we leave now, we should be able to eat them at about 12:30." Peppita said excitedly. She promptly grabbed Sophia's hand and dragged her towards the group. "C'mon guys, lets go now! Albel will catch us up, I'm sure." And led by that cute ball of energy, the group headed back towards the Moonlight.

0o0o0o0

Albel could see the group approaching him. He was at the transporter point, unfortunately he wasn't quite sure how to use it to get inside… He had been chatting with his two companions, although, not about anything serious. He looked out over the river to his right, "Its still hard to believe that our ship is right there… And I can't even see it." He whispered to himself.

It seemed that Meor overheard his musings. _"Yes, that is quite advanced technology, but you know that stealth isn't the best tool when it comes to battle." _Albel looked over at the grey cat sitting lazily on a nearby rock while enjoying the sun. He thought it odd how much he appeared like a normal cat, excluding his fur, it was a grey that bordered on dark silver.

"That's true, I know how to fight. And you _will_ see what I can do on the battlefield." Said Albel proudly. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the group was quite close now; this conversation wouldn't be lasting much longer.

"_I know how you fight." _The cats voice was lazy as it stretched, yawned and got up, _"I've seen it before."_

Albel was shocked. He had no idea that Meor had been watching him, but before he could ask, whether mentally or verbally, what he meant; the group had arrived, "Hey! Albel, what's that cat doing here?" It was Peppita; of course she had already started stroking it before he could answer.

Albel decided to tell them half of the truth, "It followed me from Peterny… I guess he's staying with us now…"

"It's Meor…" Interrupted Sophia with a look of surprise on her face. All assembled stared at her with a questioning look on their faces. Albel was practically speechless, yet no one was looking at him so he was able to compose himself.

"_Well yes I am." _Meor's voice floated through Sophia's mind again, _"Glad to see you remember me…"_

"How do you know that?" Cliff ventured in a suspicious voice towards Sophia. Before anyone could say anything more, Meor spoke aloud.

"Meow!" He said simply. The distraction gave Sophia time to think of an answer and she quickly offered an explanation to the others.

"Albel introduced me to him before… Back in Peterny…" Sophia felt a little flushed and hoped no one would notice that she was lying. She was a terrible liar.

"_Look, I can't help it if this is how I have to speak. But I promise I'll explain why only you and Albel can hear me later, sound reasonable?" _Meor's proposal was, in fact, very reasonable. Sophia simply nodded her consent, and Meor added, _"And Albel will be looking after me. You can find me in his room." _That didn't sit so well with Sophia.

Meor suddenly leapt up onto Albel's shoulder, "Whoa!" Exclaimed Cliff, "Watch out kitty, he'll get ya!" Both Albel and Meor gave Cliff a look that said, 'Oh really? What do you know?' Cliff rubbed the back of his neck and looked sheepish, "Oh… Alright… Are we ready to transport up guys?" A nod of everyone all round, Meor included, which served to further unnerve Cliff, signalled to transport them all.

"Hey everyone! Lunch will be served at 12:30; it's chocolate slice and chocolate chip cookies… Go tell everyone else!" Peppita announced once they had all appeared in the Moonlight's transporter room. The departing crowd grumbled in acknowledgement, "Hey! You guys had better be there!"

0o0o0o0

"_Now, you guys promise to let me do this? You wont interfere Meor, and you wont back down?" _Albel's last thought was directed towards his katana. He needed to calculate this specifically; it wouldn't be easy to take down the blue-haired wonder.

"_Look Albel, in my opinion, I would prefer it if you killed Fayt…" _Replied the Crimson Scourge bluntly. Albel was a little shocked at that comment, he thought that the sword would be hard to convince of anything that involved possible harm to the saviour of the galaxy.

"_Seriously! You are just so blunt sometimes!" _This latest outburst from Meor, _"It's not surprising, despite your high and mighty attitude, you are a sword after all…" _Meor sighed and shook his head as Albel turned another corner, yet managed to keep his balance on his bearer's right shoulder.

"_Well, it would simplify the problem. But anyway, I agree. Albel, do as you wish. I'm with you on whatever you decide!" _The crimson scourge replied happily, the intended pun had missed it completely. Albel always felt like the third shoe in these conversations…

"_Someone's just a little too bloodthirsty if you ask me… Haven't you been feeding him Albel?"_ Meor teased. Albel practically swerved around the next corner as a comeback, yet the cat easily retained his position.

"_His balance is unnerving… even a real cat couldn't keep this up…" _Albel thought privately. He had recently learned to do that; he'd had to. You could talk freely or privately with people, or rather, swords and cats, when using mental speech. It was quite useful. _"It's not like I've had the chance to kill a lot of things recently…" _Albel sourly replied.

"_Fine! Everyone hate me! But we'll go with your choices Albel, we're almost at the dining room, get me a biscuit!" _Meor ordered Albel, yet he was only teasing, and Albel was beginning to catch onto his weird sense of humour.

Albel rounded the last corner and found everyone lounging around in the dining room eating and talking. He grabbed some baking from the table and gave a biscuit to Meor before meandering over towards Fayt's general direction, although Peppita, who promptly wanted to play with the 'Kitty cat', cut him short. Meor jumped down and wandered off with her. "Maggot. There's something you should know." Albel said to Fayt, but loud enough to make sure Sophia heard, she was sitting near Fayt and she went white as a sheet.

"Really? What is it Albel?" Inquired Fayt curiously, he really had no idea what Albel was talking about.

"Well… You still don't know why your girlfriend is avoiding you, do you?" Asked Albel in return, his voice full of false sweetness. Sophia gasped in the background, yet luckily, no one noticed.

Fayt stood up right in Albel's face, "What are you talking about? I don't know what you want, but shouldn't we talk about it in private?" Fayt was doing well keeping a clear head despite his rising anger and the awkward situation, yet Albel had planned this well.

"Simple, a fight… To determine whom really is the strongest person in this universe. You versus me, or you can choose anyone you deem to be stronger to take your place…" Albel stated simply as he began to walk towards the door, grabbing another biscuit on his way.

"I don't… Want to fight you Albel… Lets just talk this over… Like adults, shall we?" Fayt was really struggling to maintain his composure now. Albel could tell he would lose it soon, unless someone stepped in. But he knew no one would, they were all too stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Well… If you lose, decline or forfeit, I will tell Sophia why _you_ are avoiding _her_…" Said Albel calmly, yet he could see Fayt about to explode and he threw one last small line, and the final step of his plan, at Fayt, "Relax, have a cookie…" With that Albel threw the biscuit towards the unsuspecting and enraged Fayt. Fayt's eyes began to glow. The moment hung in the air for the whole room, the biscuit slowly spun through the air and just as it reached the halfway mark… It exploded into hundreds of pieces, which flew all over the room. There was a ripple in the very substance of the room, and everyone felt a shudder that shook them to their very core.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR FUCKING BISCUIT!" Thundered a completely and insanely enraged Fayt, if everyone was stunned before, they may as well have been stone statues from another dimension now.

"Muahahahaha!" Came the mocking laugh from Albel, "Very nice, you concentrated far too much energy on a simple cookie… Disrupting the very physical laws of this world over that? Feel tired now? This time I know my enemy. Meet me in 3 hours outside the ship, and get some rest cause you'll need it worm…" Albel simply walked away and out of the room, a grey shadow silently slipped out after him with a few biscuits in its mouth.

"Fuck… You…" Uttered an exhausted Fayt as he collapsed to the floor. The room suddenly sprang to life as everyone rushed around, mostly attending to the collapsed Fayt, yet an unnoticed Sophia slipped out the door after Albel…

"C'mon man! We got to get you into bed for some rest before this fight!" Urged Cliff as he hoisted Fayt up and began to carry him towards his room.

"No! Fayt is not fighting!" Implored a sentimental Maria; her eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to spill at any moment. She tugged on Cliff's shirt and tried to stop him in vain.

"Hey…" Cliff said in a much more soothing tone, "If he allows me, I'll fight in his stead. I'm physically stronger anyway, I'll give Albel a smacking!" Cliff gave Maria a confident thumbs-up as he continued on out the door.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible Cliff," Stated Mirage coolly, "Albel knows your weaknesses, the only person well-rounded enough to take him on is Fayt, plus he has the destruction gene." She was calm and collected despite the situation. They were all headed towards Fayt's room now.

"She's absolutely right, there's no way anyone else could win…" Added Nel, in response to Cliff's bemused look she elaborated, "Both you and Mirage are susceptible to mental attacks, and both Maria and myself cannot get inside Albel's sword range nor escape him long enough for ranged combat…"

"Not to mention…" Added Adray, before Cliff could speak again, "Sophia and I could not get enough time to cast symbology, and my katana is being upgraded in Peterny, so I cannot swordfight… And don't even think about Peppita or Roger, they would be thrown around like rag-dolls, they're too small!" Put in Adray as an afterthought. Peppita was about to protest but she looked at the tower of Adray above her and decided against it.

"Awwwww, whatever! I can handle it!" Bragged Cliff, though his usual cockiness seemed a little less apparent, "It's up to Fayt anyway…" The group retreated into silence as they approached Fayt's room; they were all lost in their own thoughts.

0o0o0o0

Sophia's mind was, once again, awash with thoughts. She didn't know how to stop Albel's plan, but she did know that she was the only one that had a chance. She rounded the last corner and looked down the corridor that housed Albel's room, _"There are actually a lot of empty rooms on this ship, and Albel's is quite far away from anyone else's… Hey, there's Meor!" _Sophia hurried down the corridor, as she advanced it began to feel colder, despite the fact she had frozen it over two days ago…

"_Hello Sophia, I'd offer you a biscuit but I've already had all these in my mouth…" _Meor chuckled inside her mind. As he looked up at her with amusement clearly displayed in his golden eyes, he crunched a piece of chocolate slice. _"I might as well explain to you now… The reason that you can hear me is because of your connection gene, you have the power to talk to anyone mentally if you practice. The reason Albel can is because he wields the Crimson Scourge. It can talk too you know…"_

"Oh, really?" Questioned Sophia, she'd have to think about this later, "Um, why are you outside Albel's room?" She thought it odd that Meor would eat in the hallway.

Meor chuckled mentally, _"He wanted me outside so as not to intrude on your conversation with him, and be quick, he wants to take a nap before the fight…" _Meor went back to eating his chocolate, Sophia found it obvious she should go in now; before she opened the door she briefly wondered if Meor should be eating chocolate…

"I knew you'd come to see me," said Albel smoothly as he switched off her UMD, "My terms have changed, as you know I've made other agreements…" He spoke calmly and Sophia knew he had it all planned out, it would have been better if she had of agreed with him before…

"What do you want?" She sighed, she felt like resistance was futile, in fact, she _knew _resistance was futile. _"I hope his terms aren't too harsh…" _She prayed to anyone that would listen, although she had already defeated the God of their universe, she prayed anyway.

"Well, I keep the UMD, although I will let you borrow it. And during night hours, you must do whatever I say. And no, that doesn't mean constant sex. In return, I wont tell anyone that any of this ever happened… Unless Fayt beats me, I already promised him… Sorry." Albel remarked casually, he could see the despair on her face, _"She is going to accept!" _He inwardly screamed in joy. He suddenly realized that inwardly screaming in joy was something definitely new to him …

"On one condition…" Albel's heart skipped a beat, "If Fayt loses, declines or forfeits… You wont humiliate him…" Sophia finished with pain in her eyes.

"Agreed." Stated Albel calmly, despite the disbelief raging within, "No one will know of this deal, including your one condition, until it's over. I don't want him giving up, I want a real fight, okay?" Albel couldn't believe she had said that! _"That stupid girl! If she had heard what Fayt did, they would have reconciled their problems and forgiven then gotten back together. She's sealed her own fate…"_ Albel smirked inwardly.

"Okay… I'll let you get your rest, I guess I'm actually cheering for you now…" Said Sophia quietly as she made to leave, yet just milliseconds before the door automatically slid open she felt a light touch on her arm. She turned and saw Albel looking at her with a neutral expression on his face.

"Could I… Please have… One, good luck… Kiss?" He spoke slowly and appeared uncomfortable with the situation. Sophia could tell he was scared she would reject him, as it wasn't yet dark… But, despite herself, she leaned in slowly and gave him a gentle and soft kiss on the lips. It was only brief, but as she walked down the hall, she turned and saw him standing in the doorway. She knew that the look of serenity on his face would be imprinted her mind for a lifetime.

* * *

**A/N: **I decided to finish it on a very… romantic note, considering that the next chapter will be full of violence… Who will really fight Albel? Will everyone stand by and watch, Meor included? What are the rules of the fight? Is it a fight to the death? What tricks does everyone have up his or her sleeves? Why does The Crimson Scourge want Fayt dead? Why have we not heard of Alkyza? If you can think of any more questions, then ask in a review! 


	8. The Nightmare Arrives

**A/N:** Overdue huh? Well, that's how the cookie crumbles… So deal with it, anyway, the quality should make up for it.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Ocean, or the characters of, or blah blah. I do own my OC's, so if you want to use them, fork over the cash!

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Nightmare Arrives**

Albel wasn't so sure that the nap was a good idea. In that short amount of time the nightmares had plagued him violently. The same faceless swordsman came rushing forth. The rain poured, reducing the world to a grey haze. And still the mysterious figure above was always reaching, reaching. _"What does this mean? Why do I have this same dream every time I try to sleep? The only restful sleep I've had was… When that damn girl was with me…"_

"_Didn't sleep well huh?" _This latest interruption into his thoughts came from Meor, _"Well, rested or not, you have a difficult battle ahead."_

Albel made a scoffing sound, "I would hardly deem it to be a difficult battle… I have made sure I have all the advantages."

"_Oh I see…" _Drawled Meor as he leapt onto Albel's chest. _"You're going to cheat aren't you?" _Meor looked down into Albel's crimson eyes with his mischief filled gold ones.

Albel sat bolt upright in bed and Meor was caught off guard and ungracefully fell into his lap, "I don't have to _cheat_ to kill this maggot!" Albel hissed at the furry ball in his lap that was attempting to regain its composure.

"_Humph, touchy touchy…"_ Meor replied while jumping down to the ground, _"At any rate, stop wasting time, because you've got a death match in 15 minutes…"_

"I know, I know." Responded Albel as he grabbed his equipment and made for the door.

0o0o0o0

The knock on her door startled Maria. She was even more surprised to find a pair of red eyes looking at her emotionlessly on the other side. "A-Albel! What do you want?" She stammered, she was at a loss as to why he had appeared at _her_ door.

"Take this, you'll need it." He said simply and offered Maria a plant of some kind; upon closer inspection it appeared to be a fresh piece of sage. She took it, still unsure what was going on, and stood there awaiting comprehension, "Bring it to the fight. Thank me later." Answered Albel to her unasked question.

"Okay…" She slowly affirmed unquestioningly. She felt a soft sensation against her leg and looked down to see a cat rubbing around her ankles, _"It's called Meor right? What's it doing?" _Maria wondered absentmindedly as it began to purr.

"No way, get out of it you sick little bastard," Albel harshly scolded the cat and plucked him from between Maria's legs with one hand before tossing Meor into the air above his head and pacing off down the corridor. Meor landed gracefully on Albel's shoulder of course.

"_But she has such _sexy _legs…" _Meor whined to Albel as they headed for the transporter room.

0o0o0o0

"_How did it come to this? I need more rest. Damnit, I can't lose! I can't let Sophia know what happened! How does Albel know anyway?" _Thoughts raced through Fayt's head as he stood alone on the grassy plains watching the purple clad figure standing nonchalantly a safe distance away. To the side of the combatants the rest of the group and Meor were lined up and watching with baited breath. _"I have to focus… What accessories is he using? It looks like a Regeneration Symbol on his neck chain… So that means he isn't very susceptible to mental attacks, as it will keep restoring his focus… And… No fucking way. Albel's personally customised Bunny Shoes… Steel with sleek ears, not cute looking at all. Well, at least I'm equipped to use symbology for no mental fatigue… Guess I'm going to have to go all out to win this!" _As Fayt was finishing up his diagnostic Albel began to speak,

"Well, I'm ready when you are fool." Stated Albel calmly, and with good reason, _"Just as I thought, his equipment indicates that he is placing trust in symbology to gain the upper hand. Too predictable." _Albel's internal gloating was cut short as Fayt made the first move.

"Gravitation!" He yelled and a ball of energy instantly appeared above Albel's head. Instant cast symbology was something Albel had overlooked however and he realized he was going to suffer dearly for that mistake. Before the spell took hold he frantically reached into his item bag and withdrew a small grey orb. He threw it on the ground between Fayt and himself and it exploded in a blast of grey mist, almost instantly clouds gathered in the sky and a grey rain began to cascade down upon the scene.

"Suppressive rain!" Nel exclaimed from her place on the sidelines. All of the assembled spectators looked at her for an explanation, "It's a weapon Airyglyph developed too late for the war. While this rain lasts, no more symbology can be cast, and it looks like Albel has created a huge storm too…" Nel trailed of as she looked up into the rain, ignoring it soaking her through.

"Are you saying that Fayt can't use any symbology at all?" Cliff questioned, unwilling to believe this was true, as he began to act. Yet Cliff was grabbed by Mirage as he made a move for the battlefield.

"Cliff, don't be hasty. Nothing has happened yet, and besides, the gravitation spell is unaffected by the rain and it's beginning to take effect. It looks as though it's Fayt that has the upper hand…" Mirages calm reasoning and firm grip kept Cliff in place and he began to settle down.

"You're right. We'll see what happens." Cliff replied reluctantly

This was very rare; Albel was scared out of his mind. Gravitation had practically frozen him to the spot. The spell was so strong he could hardly move, let alone fight, the world carried on as he was left in slow motion. Every drop of rain seemed to hit him in slow motion; every drop thudded ominously in his ears. He could see a grey figure he assumed was Sophia in the corner of his eye reaching feebly towards him as she stood with the group, they hadn't noticed her doing it yet, and she didn't want him to lose. But worst of all, he could see another menacing shadow stalking towards him through the rain, sword glinting in the dim light. He was scared because this was the nightmare. The nightmare he had been fighting for so long had finally come to claim him. He drew his sword in slow motion. He may be unable to fight, but he would die honourably. He would make a feeble last stand.

"_You give up too easily mortal…" _The Crimson scourge spoke as it slowly came into his view. _"I am not bound by a spell such as this…"_ By now Fayt had reached him. Albel could see the simple blow coming straight for his head, he feared that he couldn't move fast enough to block it, and his sword flicked up and deflected it by itself with speed easily equalling Fayt's attack.

"I should have guessed it would not be so easy…" Fayt calmly lamented before launching into a flurry of attacks. Yet the Crimson Scourge still blocked each and every one, dragging Albel's body with it. The two swordsmen danced in the storm, Albel looking far from graceful as he was manoeuvred by his sword, it usually happened the other way around.

"_Look, I'm only buying you time until the spell wears off, and then you're on your own… You get to kill him…" _The sword calmly stated as it continued to defend its master. Albel began to wonder just what his katana was capable of.

"No! I will not lose to the likes of you!" Thundered Fayt, Albel looked into his opponent's eyes and saw they were glowing bright green. He knew that was not good. Then, without warning, green energy coursed along the length of Fayt's sword and instantly the power behind his attacks trebled. Every blow caused a shockwave to erupt from the impact point and water was flung outward in great sheets. Each attack caused Albel to lose ground now.

"_Okay, this is not very good…" _The strain in the Crimson Scourge's voice was apparent now. Then Fayt took a step back and followed through with a full force swing that was still blocked, yet Albel felt every bone in his body bend as he was flung away by the sheer power behind the strike. He landed in a muddy puddle a fair distance away, yet regained his footing quickly.

"Nice try Maggot… But now I'm free of your spell…" Taunted a slightly breathless Albel as Fayt came rushing towards him. He deftly evaded as Fayt swiped at him, his mud-covered bunny shoes giving him the speed advantage, yet the wake of the sword left a gash across his torso and cast Albel backwards once more, _"He's using a lot of power, guess I'll have to give him a fair bit of room then…" _Albel concluded as he regained his balance, sped backwards and yelled, "Dragon Roar!"

"Too scared to fight me upfront!" Fayt exclaimed vehemently as a virtual torrent of dragons reached towards him with jaws outstretched. However, Fayt expertly sliced each and every dragon in half that Albel could summon. Yet he was breathing heavily now, and the glow in his yes was beginning to dim slightly, as he dashed towards Albel once more. It was obvious that Fayt had pushed too hard in an attempt to end the fight quickly.

"Too much power… Too soon fool… Vampiric flash!" Albel snarled triumphantly as black and purple shadows swirled on the ground around him before engulfing the blue haired boy. Once they had retreated Fayt stood unsteadily on his feet, his sword and eyes no longer glowing. Albel had been breathless but the energy had restored his stamina considerably.

"Ahhhhh…" Fayt moaned as he attempted to stay upright, even the simple rain falling upon him was straining his ability to stand. Albel swiftly marched forward and punched him full force with his claw, thus sending the exhausted boy backwards until he collapsed in a sitting position on the muddy ground against a rock.

"You tried, I suppose. But once a worm, always a worm…" Albel stated matter-of-factly. He raised his sword high with the tip pointed Fayt-ward. Water dripped from the tip into Fayt's eyes as he stared vacantly upward. Fayt could do naught to resist as he watched the grime-covered purple swordsman tower above him. But before Albel could deliver the final strike he found his head flying to the left, quickly followed by the rest of his body.

"That's enough Albel. You have clearly won." Cliff informed the swordsman who was struggling up out of the mud. He readied himself for resistance because he was fairly sure Albel wasn't going to be happy about him interrupting.

"Actually, it's not enough. He still breathes…" Albel replied calmly as he shook the water and sludge from his hair and began to advance upon Cliff. Cliff made to dart forward and deliver Albel another blow, yet Albel cut him short, "Aura Wall!" Cliff made a strangled cry as the tormented souls sprang from the ground and engulfed his head before crashing to the ground. Albel simply kicked him in the face for good measure and strode over him. When he reached Fayt he thrust the Crimson Scourge through the boy's chest without hesitation.

"Gahh!" Fayt wheezed with a look of disbelief in his now wide eyes. He grasped the sword that protruded from his chest and feebly tried to pull it out, yet all was in vain as he slowly went limp.

"I won't humiliate you. I just said that so you'd put up a good fight…" Albel whispered softly to the barely breathing body before withdrawing his sword. Fayt coughed up some blood in response; however Albel just stood watching the rain swiftly wash his katana clean before sheathing it and walking away. All eyes were riveted upon the scene, most people unable to move, thus nobody noticed the silver figure in the clouds above.

* * *

**A/N: **Short, but oh so dramatic. This would have been updated sooner, but we had a power surge that fried my router. That would be $200 down the drain but the best come with warranties! Then I decided everyone was OOC and rewrote the entire dialogue and tied up a lot of loose ends and added more description. And then my replacement routers (yes, 2) both decided they didn't know how to connect to the net. So after everything I hope you enjoyed this. And the drama doesn't stop here; I just thought this was a good place to end the chapter. An unexpected… something appears in the next chapter. And the adventure begins… Oh and if anyone can guess the meaning/s of the title… Well, try and I'll try and think of something, lol. And if you want to follow the new and improved Holiday, put me on Author Alert,because i might name it something else and post it seperate to this. And of course reviews help a lot as they may influense the rewrite. Have your say in how this turns out, im open minded, so you never know... 


End file.
